Conventional vacuum fault interrupters provide high voltage fault interruption. Such a vacuum fault interrupter, which also may be referred to as a vacuum interrupter, generally includes a stationary electrode assembly having an electrical contact, and a movable electrode assembly having its own electrical contact and arranged on a common longitudinal axis with respect to the stationary electrode assembly. The movable electrode assembly generally moves along the common longitudinal axis such that the electrical contacts come into and out of contact with one another. In this way, a vacuum interrupter placed in a current path can be used to interrupt excessively high current and thereby prevent damage to an external circuit.
To determine when to move the electrical contacts out of contact with one another, conventional vacuum interrupters often use some type of current and/or voltage-sensing device.